Nederlandse Loterij moves to shut down illegal Skyhills platform following Lalabet victory
Nederlandse Loterij has ordered the operators and directors of the illegal gambling site Skyhills to cease operations in the Netherlands. Nederlandse Loterij is also holding them liable and the gambling organization wants more information about the corporate structure. Since the order was issued, the illegal platform in the Netherlands is no longer accessible.
The companies and individuals are based in Costa Rica, North Macedonia, and the United Kingdom, as well as on Curaçao, Malta, and the Marshall Islands. Skyhills is the third illegal gambling site against which Nederlandse Loterij is taking legal action. With the cease and desist letter, the gambling organization aims to take the website offline and gain more clarity about who is behind it, in order to potentially take targeted follow-up legal steps. That first goal has therefore been achieved.
Arjan Blok, CEO of Nederlandse Loterij: “Player protection is paramount at Nederlandse Loterij. We want players to be able to participate in our games of chance in a safe and responsible manner. Skyhills is using devious advertising, including on TikTok, to explicitly target Dutch players and especially young people. They can gamble there completely unprotected, with all the associated risks. That is unacceptable. Therefore, it is good to see that after our first step, the Skyhills site went offline immediately.”
Now for politics.
The House of Representatives will debate gambling this coming Thursday. Nederlandse Loterij stands for responsible gambling and therefore supports a large part of the gambling plans of the State Secretary for Justice and Security. For example, it is good that the Gambling Authority is being given more powers to tackle illegal gambling sites. “However, a legislative amendment takes years to materialize. That is why the government must do more now to tackle illegal gambling sites, for example through criminal prosecution by the Public Prosecution Service. In addition to the legal steps that the regulator and Nederlandse Loterij can take as a legal provider. We must fight illegal gambling sites where players are completely unprotected together. Banks, payment providers, and hosting services also have a responsibility in this,” says Arjan Blok.
Advertising ban backfires.
At the same time, an advertising ban for legal online gambling providers is unwise. Advertising opportunities in the Netherlands are already severely restricted. With the limited space available, providers can keep players with the legal offerings. Otherwise, they will turn even more to illegal gambling sites, which continue to advertise unabated. Half of the gambling market in the Netherlands is in the hands of illegal parties, who are also responsible for 95 percent of the advertisements and often pose as legal providers. Around 200,000 Dutch people already gamble illegally. A total ban on advertising for legal providers therefore plays into the hands of illegal gambling sites.
Nederlandse Loterij appeals in Lalabet lawsuit.
Nederlandse Loterij previously filed lawsuits against Lalabet and Qbet. The lawsuit against Qbet is expected to commence in late 2026. In June of this year, the court ruled almost entirely in favor of Nederlandse Loterij in the lawsuit against Lalabet. The operators of this illegal gambling site and their directors acted unlawfully, are liable, and must cease activities targeting Dutch players. Additionally, they must provide Nederlandse Loterij with insight into the corporate structure and provide information regarding the shareholders and owners behind Lalabet. This information offers important leads to further unravel the illegal network and take further steps against operators, trust offices, and directors. Ultimately, this should lead to the shutdown and continued operation of illegal gambling sites.
Furthermore, the court ruled that trust administrators and local representatives who facilitate illegal gambling sites can also be held liable. However, the court did not establish that the Curaçao trust firm DECC and its directors acted unlawfully. According to the court, it has not been sufficiently proven that the directors of DECC knew they were providing services to a company operating an illegal gambling site in the Netherlands. Nederlandse Loterij disagrees with this, as trust firms have a duty to investigate clients and their activities. Moreover, investigations reveal that the same trust firm is also involved with the illegal gambling sites Qbet and Skyhills. Therefore, Nederlandse Loterij is filing an appeal.